Daphne Whiteing’s story is tragic. The great grandmother was the victim of crime, which is, sadly, a common occurrence on our streets.

The 82-year-old’s purse was stolen while she was out on a shopping trip in Witney.

The scumbags then used her card to withdraw £200 from her account but they also had their hands on her house keys.

Bad enough.

However, the sheer worry seems to have sparked a stroke for Mrs Whiteing.

She later died.

Today her son has told the Oxford Mail about how the incident had shaken his mother.

A minor crime? Maybe, in the grand scale of things.

But we should not underestimate the sense of desperation caused by perceived petty theft.

The anger, followed by the feeling of violation, and then the upset.

Law-abiding citizens stay on the straight and narrow through their life, only to have heartless louts bring their world crashing down.

We hope police do all they can to collar these thugs.